Deputy visits with criminal justice studentsSeveral students sat inside the back of a Pope County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) police car on Tuesday — for educational purposes. PCSO Deputy Kirk Turner visited students in the criminal justice class at the Arkansas Tech University (ATU) Career Center. Turner said he valued the opportunity to speak with students who might become a member of his profession. "It teaches them what we do at the sheriff's office and that we are not just arresting ev...

RHS presents fall show next weekRussellville High School Cyclone Theatre will present its fall show, “Over the River and Through the Woods” at 7 p.m. on Nov. 18, 20 and 21 in the Black Box Theatre at The Center for the Arts. The play revolves around Nick, a much beloved grandson, who tells his grandparents that his job promotion is moving him away from his beloved grandparents in New Jersey to Seattle, Wash. This news doesn’t sit so well with his grandparents, and begins a s...

Bond hearingsThe following individuals appeared during felony bond hearings Wednesday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear Dec. 15 in Circuit Court. • Charity Loppe, 30, breaking or entering, theft of property and disorderly conduct — $15,000. On Sunday, Loppe took $20 from a parked vehicle at a local retail store, according to a police report. On Monday, Loppe...

11-year-old dies in house fireJOHNSON COUNTY — An 11-year-old boy was killed and three others were injured in a house fire in Johnson County on Wednesday morning. Around 12:02 a.m., the Johnson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) responded to a fire on Forest Service Road 4250. A neighbor told authorities he was awakened by the boy's father who said that "his house was on fire and his son was still trapped in the residence," according to a news release. The neighbor and the boy...

Committee approves WiFi fundsThe Russellville City Council's Finance Committee approved during its regular meeting Monday appropriating funds from various grants for specific projects. The city received a $31,000 grant for cameras and WiFi at Russellville City Hall. The Finance Committee approved appropriating $28,000 of it for cameras. If the bid comes in lower than that, the remaining funds will be added to the $3,000 to be used toward WiFi. Finance Director Jerry McKau...

News Briefs (Nov. 13, 2014)Logic and accuracy testing today The Pope County Election Commission will conduct logic and accuracy testing on equipment and media to be used during the general election runoff at 8:30 a.m. today. Public demonstration will follow at noon. The testing and demonstration will be held at Pope County Election Headquarters, located at 1509 E. Main St., Suite 7, in Russellville. Business After Hours today The Russellville Area Chamber of Commerce wi...

Car Seat Check-Up to be held SaturdayThe River Valley Circle of Friends and Arkansas Children’s Hospital will host a Car Seat Check-Up from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in the Walmart parking lot. Parents of young children are encouraged to come by for a free car seat check-up, which will be given by trained professionals who will examine if the seat is appropriate for age and weight of the child and if it is installed correctly. Motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause...

Hector handles fiscal distressHECTOR — The Hector School District remains on the Arkansas Department of Education fiscal distress list but now has “a good handle on everything,” Superintendent Walt Davis told the school board during its brief regular meeting Monday. Davis said he would be attending a meeting in Little Rock on Thursday where the district’s financial progress would be reviewed. He said it was unrealistic to expect to be removed from the watch list this soon,...

Harris seeks alliance auditThe Finance Committee authorized Alderwoman Freddie Harris to get bids from local companies to conduct an audit of the Arkansas Valley Alliance for Economic Development's 2013 budget and present the bids to the Russellville City Council during its Nov. 20 meeting for approval. "This audit will be used to show the financial deviance between the city and the alliance," Harris said, adding she wants the council to rethink its financial commitment...

Council gives plant 60 days to render a planThe Russellville City Council during a special meeting Monday approved requiring officials with Pilgrim's Pride Corporation to present a plan to squelch the stench coming from its Russellville rendering plant, Premium Protein Products. "My recommendation would be that we provide a very short period of time for Premium Protein Products to present to us an affirmative plan that will address this problem with some finality," Alderman Martin Irwin...

News Briefs (Nov. 12, 2014)Cattlemen’s meeting The Pope County Cattlemen’s Association will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Russellville First Assembly of God fellowship hall for the regular monthly meeting. The program and barbecue meal will be sponsored by Merial Pharmaceuticals and presented by representative Randy Schilling. All interested persons are encouraged to attend. Members are asked to bring potluck desserts. For more information, call (479) 968-4573. America...

Roadway construction to begin in Yell, Johnson countiesThe Arkansas Highway Commission approved bids in Yell and Johnson county for further road improvements. According to Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) officials, the commission has approved a bid for improvements to State Highway 7 south of Ola. The purpose of the project is to replace a bridge and improve the alignment of Highway 7. The bridge is located over Keeland Creek. Patriarch Contracting LLC of Searcy was awa...

Only eight states to dodge icy air from slipping polar vortexAccuWeather.com reports as the polar vortex gets displaced to the south, the door will open for arctic air to plunge over the most of the United States as the new week progresses. Only the Southwest, Hawaii, Alaska and south Florida will escape the grip of the upcoming arctic blast that the polar vortex can be blamed for. "The polar vortex is a large pocket of very cold air, typically the coldest air in the Northern Hemisphere, which sits over...

Veterans celebrationSt. John Catholic School held its annual Veteran Celebration ceremony Monday morning at the school to recognize local veterans and what they did to make our country what it is today. Special guest speaker Peggy Thompson, retired Air Force Master Sergeant, spoke to those in attendance about United State Air Force core values and how you can apply them in your everyday life. Students closed the ceremony by recognizing veterans in attendance, all...

A retired knight in flightNov. 11 signifies more than a date for John Laughinghouse. Retired Lt. Col. Laughinghouse had three overseas stints with the U.S. Army — Germany, Vietnam and Thailand — in his 20 years of service. The Red Knight leader takes pride in the ceremonies that commemorate his efforts in the U.S. Army. Laughinghouse was born in 1932 in Jonesboro. He completed school in the same town before beginning college at Arkansas State University, where he was i...

Police seize 125 pounds of potTwo California residents were arrested when officers found 125 pounds of high-grade marijuana in a U-Haul truck during a traffic stop. Rodrigo Miranda, 26, of Santa Ana, Calif., was driving the vehicle when officers pulled him over for following too close near the 82 mile marker on Interstate 40 East. Mata-Vazquez, 21, of Anaheim, Calif., and Miranda seemed nervous and gave conflicting stories, according to a police report. Officers noted a st...

Bond hearingsThe following individual appeared during felony bond hearings Monday at the Pope County Detention Center. Her name, age, anticipated charge and bond amount is listed. If charged, she will appear Dec. 15 in Circuit Court. • Megan Thurman, 26, forgery — $5,000. An arrest warrant for Thurman was filed earlier this month in connection with a May 23 forgery. On May 23, a male attempted to cash a $1,200 forged check at a local bank, according to a p...

$500,000 bond for rape suspectJoshua Wells may face charges of rape, second-degree sexual assault, possession of child pornography and the exploitation of a child following a joint investigation between the Russellville Police Department (RPD) and special agents with the Arkansas State Police (ASP). On Thursday, ASP agents received information that Wells, 34, had pornographic images of a child on his cell phone, an investigator testified during felony bond hearings Monday....

News Briefs (Nov. 11, 2014)Pope County Riding Club meeting The Pope County Riding Club will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at the arena. For more information, call (479) 747-9730. Russellville Library programs this week Ms. Emily invites all area children to a “Frozen” party at 5 p.m. Thursday in the Heritage Hall next to the Russellville Public Library. A movie showing will begin promptly at 5:30 p.m. Refreshments will be provided. Teens will celebrate International Games Day...